August 18, 2022

August 18, 2022

We awoke to chilly 55F weather in Alpine, AZ. Instead of following the Coronado Trail south along Arizona’s very windy Rte 191, we took the New Mexico version downhill out of the mountains. About halfway we stopped to stretch our legs at Whitewater Canyon to hike the Catwalk National Recreation Trail. This was the site of an old silver mill. The miners built a suspended pipeline down the gorge to supply the mill’s water needs. During the depression, the CCC replaced it with a metal grating.

The trail is short but scenic. The beginning is lined with enormous Aspens, but the canyon quickly narrows and deepens.  The upper part of the suspended catwalk is damaged and closed. Aimee and I try to follow the trail further along the swollen stream. It involves tiptoeing over rocks and downed logs in the rushing stream. Balance is not Aimee’s forte, so she nixes us going very far.

From Catwalk we continue downhill through absolutely beautiful country. It is mostly very remote mountains and canyons, but at one point we find ourselves in extensive high plains. The recent monsoons have turned it very green and lush. All too soon we reach the desert floor and continue home to Tucson. I got the biggest compliment when Aimee said I planned this trip well. She liked everything we did.

August 17, 2022

August 17, 2022

From Monument Valley we drove southeast across the huge Navajo Nation. By necessity it was another zigzag route because of tall sandstone cliffs everywhere. It is mostly rangeland. After almost three hours we reached the capital at Window Rock. It sits at higher elevation on a pine forested plateau.

We first visited the Navajo Nation Museum which is mostly about the Treaty of 1868. On display is an original signed copy. The treaty allowed the Navajos to return to this area from their forced exile in New Mexico. Not mentioned is the main criterion that the Navajos had to agree; to stop terrorizing their Hopi and Zuni Pueblo Indian neighbors. On leaving the museum, we were amused by the stop sign in their native language.

We visited the Window Rock Tribal Park just a mile north. There we see the city's namesake Rock Window with a memorial to the Navajo Code Talkers in the foreground. It is quite scenic.

From Window Rock we popped across the border to New Mexico and drove south past Gallup to the Zuni Pueblo stopping first at their Visitor Center. We then moved across town to the A:shiwi A:wan Museum. The colon in the name represents a pronunciation pause. The museum mostly covers their contact with the outside world with special emphasis on Coronado’s attack on the main settlement of Hawikuh. Coronado thought it was the fabled Cibola, City of Gold. There are many artifacts from Hawikuh, especially a nice variety of colorful clay pottery. Because of the remote location (even today), the Zuni Pueblo had limited contact throughout history, and they seem to like that. The Zuni-Cibola Complex was approved as a National Historical Park by Congress, but the Zuni people reconsidered the idea and backed out.

From the Zuni Pueblo we drove back into Arizona and continued south following Coronado's Expedition trail. We stopped for the night in the town of Alpine. The village deserves its name sitting at 8000 feet in the pine forested White Mountains. We have dinner at a local bar while being serenaded by live music. During our meal it begins to pour, and the temperature drops to 60F. This cannot be Arizona!

August 16, 2022

August 16, 2022

After a leisurely morning, we left Kanab, UT retracing our route back to Page, AZ. From there we zigzagged east deep into Navajo land. The landscape is full of sandstone cliffs and small canyons. After several hours we reach Monument Valley Tribal Park on the Arizona-Utah border. We had trouble finding any availability in the two hotels near the park. Aimee and I were making plans to sleep in a tent when I accidentally noticed the campground had a cabin available.

The cabin hasn’t been cleaned yet so we head over to the lodge that has a museum about this Goulding property. A hundred years ago Harry Goulding opened a trading post here to service the needs of the local Navajo. During the Depression, he went to Hollywood to sell the locale for Western movies. His photos convinced director John Ford to film Stagecoach here in 1939 and the rest is history. Monument Valley is now the iconic western film backdrop. The museum is inside the Goulding home. For some reason he willed the property to Knox College in Galesburg, IL who to this day has a scholarship for Navajo students.

We return to the campground to find the cabin still isn't available. I tell Aimee this is par for the course for the Indians. We change clothes in the car and head to the campground office to meet the late-afternoon tour we booked. On an early RV trip, we just visited the Monument Valley entrance. We always intended to return with a jeep to explore its backcountry. That never happened. At the lodge, another dozen tourists, all from Europe, board our open tour truck. Apparently, Americans are all traveling in Europe.

The truck takes us deep into Monument Valley along a very rough and dusty road. We stop at several viewpoints, the most famous known as John Ford Point. But the crush of tourists makes taking photos difficult. I have to say neither Aimee nor I are particularly impressed with the scenery. These Navajo Sandstone cliff walls can be seen everywhere on the Colorado Plateau without having to share it with hundreds of your closest friends. Its appeal at least to me is its relationship to the Western movie industry.

One of the benefits of the tour is that it goes deeper into Monument Valley than public vehicles are allowed. We stop at several spots where arches and windows have developed in the sandstone cliff. At one stop three Navajo guides entertain us with some traditional drum and flute music. This was actually a highlight of the trip. Being the only Americans, Aimee and I developed a good rapport with our excellent Navajo guide. We also stop to see a Hogan house and a tiny Sweat Lodge.

Our last stop was at a viewpoint of the iconic ‘Mittens’ of Monument Valley. The sun is starting to set and they are beginning to glow. A nice end to an enjoyable tour.

Back at the campground, we are finally able to get our cabin key. We have a wine and picnic dinner on our deck with very pleasant weather. Our cabin is a little rustic but has everything we need. It reminds us very much of our RV. While not luxurious, it is the best tent we have ever slept in.

August 15, 2022

August 15, 2022

The Utah/Arizona border region has no end of interesting geologic formations to discover. Our first visit with the RV was a month long and we have been back many times. I have always dreamed of buying a jeep so we could explore the more remote areas. We have never done it since neither Aimee nor I relish the idea of getting stuck in the middle of nowhere (which eventually happens to all off-roaders.) So today we are pursuing an alternative that probably works better for us. We hired a guide to drive us in his vehicle. We met him here in Kanab, UT and loaded into his vintage Chevy Suburban. He is an ex-geologist. Most of the geologists I have met went into the field because of their love of the outdoors.

We are going to explore a remote section of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument today. During our travels we have often driven past these beautiful red cliffs that lie just north of the Grand Canyon. Only once have we explored the Paria Plateau above the cliffs. That was when we hiked to the Wave.

We made our way east up the Kaibab Plateau where we pick up two more hikers, retired Chicago teachers now living outside Phoenix. After a dozen more miles we turn north on the unpaved House Rock Road. We make a brief stop at a Condor viewing area but none are to be seen. After some ten miles we turn onto an even smaller and rougher back road. The area is mostly pinyon pine and juniper scabland that is leased to free-range cattle ranchers. After many more miles the track turns into deep red sand. Fortunately with the heavy monsoons the sand is somewhat compact. Our guide makes driving it look easy. But even he goes off road when confronted with deep wet spots. After two and a half hours we reach the White Pocket Recreation Area.

Like the Wave this isolated pocket of Navajo Sandstone outcropping is otherworldly. In the White Pocket, much of the normally red sandstone is almost completely covered with a layer of bleached-white sandstone that has shrunk and cracked into cauliflower-shaped tiles. To me they look like the scales on the back of an enormous prehistoric crocodile. There are sections bigger than football fields.

In some areas the White Pocket has been eroded exposing the underlying red sandstone. Some swirls look very similar to the Wave. These undulations are probably the petrification of the prehistoric sand dune shapes that once covered the Colorado Plateau. In other areas the layers are all jumbled up in ways geologists struggle to explain.

Aimee and I have some fun climbing one of the red sandstone formations but almost get ourselves into trouble when we slip off the ledge. Aimee luckily grabbed my foot at the last minute. We have our sack lunch in a sheltered spot on this sandstone.

The roar of Chocolate Falls is not the only unexpected benefit of the heavy monsoons. Many of the depressions in the rocks here are filled with water giving me many opportunities to photograph reflections.

Our circular hike eventually brings us back to the car where we begin the long drive back to Kanab. At the House Rock turnoff, we run into another tour vehicle with a failed transmission. We give one of the passengers, an Italian visitor, a lift into town. If I needed more encouragement to hire a guide instead of buying a jeep, I just got it.

After resting for an hour at our Kanab hotel room, we go to a local cafe, where Aimee and I share an entree of Pistachio-encrusted Chicken in a Poblano Cream Sauce. It is superb and another unexpected treat to match our exploration today. Aimee spends some time on the Internet trying to find a recipe that copies it.

August 14, 2022

August 14, 2022

After a late breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and drove an hour northeast of Flagstaff onto the Navajo Reservation. The landscape is filled with volcanic cinder cone mountains. Eventually we leave the pavement behind and travel eight plus miles along a very dusty washboard dirt road. We stop when we reach the Little Colorado River. One of the many lava flows in the distant past blocked the river here. The river breached the dam forming Grand Falls of Arizona. The Little Colorado River is very seasonal so it is not always so grand.

When we arrive, Aimee is surprised to see dozens of cars in the parking lot. As I open the door I hear a rushing sound. I think our timing is good. The heavy monsoon we are having is powering the waterfall. We are in awe. It is an extraordinary sight for the desert. Grand Falls is a series of cascades ending in several large plunges taller than Niagara. The water is thick with brown sediment giving it the well-deserved nickname of Chocolate Falls. Aimee and I hike around checking out the various vantage points.

From Grand Falls we backtrack towards Flagstaff and then turn north. In two hours we reach Page. After a leisurely lunch, we cross the Colorado River at the Glen Canyon Dam. We stop at the Wahweap Overlook to check out Lake Powell, or at least where it once was. Aimee asked where is the Lake. The water level has dropped so much it is almost back to being just the Colorado River again.

We continue west into Utah stopping briefly at the Grand Staircase National Monument Visitor Center in Big Water. While Aimee shops for a new backpack, I check out the latest dinosaur fossils found in this forbidding and remote landscape. Surprisingly the new Triceratops relatives sport horns that look amazingly like Buffalo. Paleontologists also think the 'skull frill' may have been very colorful.

We continue on to Kanab, UT. We are stuck in the car for awhile until the afternoon monsoon (and hail) subsides long enough I can dash inside the hotel.

August 13, 2022

August 13, 2022

Aimee and I decided we needed to build up our hiking muscles. So that meant getting out there again. Our first stop was just east of Flagstaff at Walnut Canyon National Monument, one of our favorites. This meandering canyon is cut deep into the Kaibab Limestone formation and is filled with junipers and pinyon pines. By itself it is very picturesque; but a thousand years ago the local Indians took refuge here building pueblos in the limestone overhangs. They must have feared some other tribe to have built their homes in such inaccessible spots on the cliff faces. Aimee and I got our exercise on the 240 steps to reach the level of the Indians' hovels. Our thighs are burning.

Our next stop was Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Preserve. This city park is adjacent to the municipal wastewater plant. Reclaimed water feeds the little stream that has carved a small but steep canyon into the volcanic basalt. Flagstaff is built atop former volcanoes. This is clear during our loop hike through the area as most of the path is atop volcanic cinders. We had to speed through the last few hundred yards when the afternoon rain started.

It is now pouring. On our drive back to the hotel, we spot the local movie theater and decide this would be a good spot to wait out the rain. We dash inside just in time to watch Top Gun: Maverick. It is very entertaining with almost non-stop action.

After resting in the hotel for an hour we head to the historic section of Flagstaff. Route 66 went right past downtown. When I was a child my family drove this road on the way to and from California. We spent the night at the Holiday Inn here in Flagstaff. I would love to know if the building still exists. We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant. Afterwards we window shopped the area with its many historic buildings.

August 12, 2022

August 12, 2022

Our last trip is now a distant memory so Aimee acquiesced to a short getaway. We quickly packed our bags and left town mid-morning heading north. Aimee timed our departure so we would arrive at a Phoenix fabric wholesaler. I read a magazine while Aimee shopped for her next several projects.

We continued north on I-17 until we reached the Sedona exit. Sedona, with its red rock cliffs, is hands down the most scenic spot in the state. Hungry, our first stop was a burger joint in Oak Creek Canyon. We split a massive burger festooned with sauteed onions, peppers, jalapenos, guacamole, and bacon. Aimee thought it the best she ever had.

After lunch we didn't make it far. Just north of the restaurant, we parked at the Courthouse Butte Trailhead and hiked up the distinctive butte of Bell Rock. It is mostly scrambling up red slick rock which Aimee is not fond of. The views of the surrounding red rocks and ominous storm clouds are outstanding.

Back in the car, the rain finally begins but doesn't last long. We continue north making our way through Sedona to the Mescal Trailhead. We hike east for a couple miles till we reach a cliff face. We climb a series of stone steps to the rim where we discover Devil's Bridge. This is a very cool place to take a photograph. I have to coax Aimee really hard to open her eyes so she can take the picture. She can't wait to get back down the cliff.

Back at the car we follow Oak Creek upstream before climbing the Colorado Plateau and reaching Flagstaff. It is rainy and overcast and almost chilly. We check into our hotel and eat at the neighboring Outback Restaurant.